Morocco Approves AstraZeneca Vaccine, Vaccination Campaign Set to Begin Mid-January

After the opinion of the advisory commission given on January 4, the Ministry of Health also gave its authorization this Wednesday, January 6, for the temporary emergency use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, for a period of 12 months. This vaccine could be the first to be used by the kingdom in its vaccination campaign, which is due to start in mid-January, according to a source close to the department of Khaled Aït Taleb, reports Jeune Afrique.

"Developed by the University of Oxford and the AstraZeneca laboratory, COVISHIELD, as it is commercially known, is indicated for the active immunization of persons aged 18 and over for the prevention of Coronavirus disease 2019," the authorization document states. The vaccination schedule involves two separate doses of 0.5 ml. After the first injection, the second dose will be administered between 4 and 12 weeks, the document points out.

In contrast to the vaccines implemented by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, Covishield "can be stored and distributed at a temperature between 2 and 8°C, with a shelf life of 6 months for unopened vials," the same source said. Thus, contrary to what was planned during the signing of the memorandum on September 18, the AstraZeneca vaccine will not be produced by the R-Pharm laboratory, but by the Serum Institute of India, and will be imported in finished product form.

It should be noted that since Monday, this vaccine has been used on a large scale in the United Kingdom, and has already been authorized in Argentina and India, on December 30 and January 3 respectively. For the record, Morocco had opted for the Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines to vaccinate its population. Thus, the Kingdom has placed an order for 65 million vaccine doses, including 25 million AstraZeneca vaccines.